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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. last — to go on
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mine — for digging
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bass — the fish
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. last — final
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — low music
  18. saw — the tool
  19. hand — help
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. last — finally
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com